ANAHEIM, Calif. — Eight months ago, Rick Nash played a couple of games through symptoms associated with a concussion he sustained, but did not immediately recognize, after a hit from Milan Lucic in Boston on Feb. 12.

It was only after playing those two matches that Nash left the lineup for what became a 10-day, four-game absence.

Rest assured, neither Nash nor the Rangers will ignore the ramifications of the head shot he took from Sharks defenseman Brad Stuart two-and-a-half minutes into the Rangers’ 9-2 defeat in San Jose on Tuesday. Nash left the game following the first period with what he later described as a “headache” and went back to New York to be checked out, meaning he will certainly at least be out through Saturday’s game against the Blues.

The winger, who had one of his most dominating games as a Ranger on Monday night in Los Angeles, took a blow across the right side of the face by a Stuart elbow/shoulder while he was against the defensive-zone boards after moving the puck.

Nash bent over and then skated slowly to the bench, as Stuart was assessed a two-minute minor for elbowing at 2:32.

“It got worse as it went on; it just didn’t feel right,” Nash said after the game. “Any time you get a head shot you’re concerned, to feel the way it feels.

“It doesn’t feel good.”

Stuart received a three-game suspension following a disciplinary hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Wednesday for an illegal check to the head as defined by Rule 48.

“Stuart, who is two inches shorter than Nash, unnecessarily extended the left side of his body upward, specifically his left shoulder, in a way that makes Nash’s head the main point of contact,” vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan said on the video accompanying the league announcement of the suspension.

“This is a violation of the illegal check to the head rule.”

The Blueshirts, who have dropped two of their first three games and have been out-scored 14-6 overall, were off on Wednesday due to work rules covered in Article 16.5 of the collective bargaining agreement.

Ryan Callahan likely will fill Nash’s spot on the right side of the first line with Derek Stepan and Brad Richards, while Jesper Fast will return to the lineup after a pair of healthy scratches.

The Blueshirts have been carrying just one spare forward since J.T. Miller’s assignment to the AHL Wolf Pack on Saturday.